How your donations help

Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the work of our volunteers and staff, the Canadian Cancer Society has more impact, against more cancers, in more communities, than any other cancer charity.

With your help, the Canadian Cancer Society has played a part in reducing the impact of cancer on Canadians. We couldn’t do it without you!

We take the role as steward of donor dollars very seriously and make every effort to allocate these dollars where they will make the most difference in the fight against cancer. We focus our work in 5 areas – research, advocacy, prevention, information and support.

The Canadian Cancer Society is the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada. We are funding life-saving research into all types of cancer.

Today, over 60% of Canadians diagnosed with cancer will survive compared to about 25% in the early 1940s when we started funding research. Despite the drop in deaths, cancer is still the leading cause of death in Canada.

The Canadian Cancer Society fights cancer by:

doing everything we can to prevent cancer

funding research to outsmart cancer

empowering, informing and supporting Canadians living with cancer

advocating for public policies to improve the health of Canadians

rallying Canadians to get involved in the fight against cancer

In 2013, we invested:

$45 million to support 294 lead researchers and 567 students and fellows to carry out 327 research projects

$74 million in programs and services to meet the needs of people living with cancer and their caregivers and to provide information about cancer

$9 million advocating for important cancer issues that matter to Canadians

Publications

We produced and distributed 1.4 million print materials about all aspects of cancer last year.

We published 565scientific papers, based on Canadian Cancer Society–funded research in peer-reviewed journals throughout 2012.

Information and support programs

56,000Canadians have used our Cancer Information Service in 2012 alone; over 1 million since 1996.

75,000people with cancer and their caregivers accessed our information and support services, and

27,000 smokers were helped by the Society’s quit smoking programs all throughout 2012.

In 2012, we provided 5,000 people having cancer treatment with accommodation at one of our lodges, and our volunteers drove 20,000 people to their cancer treatment centres.

Prevention

Last year we reached 150,000 Canadians regarding sun safety initiatives.

Interested in learning more?

How your donations help in Manitoba

For 75 years now, Canadians have trusted the Canadian Cancer Society to lead the fight against cancer. We strongly encourage people to ask questions about where their money goes because we believe donors should carefully weigh the impact of a charity’s work and how it improves the lives of the people it’s meant to improve.

Unlike most cancer charities in Manitoba, the Cancer Society honours donors’ wishes if they choose to designate their funds to specific purposes whether is a particular kind of cancer or a certain program or service.

All money donated to the Cancer Society helps to fight ALL cancers in Manitoba. We put donor funds to work fighting cancer in many ways by:

Funding world-class research;

Providing programs and services that support to those fighting cancer

Working to prevent cancer;

Working to bring about change so the cancer system is more responsive to cancer patients and their families

Bringing about change in the system

Just last year we spoke up on behalf of Manitobans and the provincial government agreed to cover all cancer treatment and support drugs in Manitoba. In addition, the Cancer Society was able to persuade all political parties to adopt specific initiatives to increase the fight against cancer including shortening wait times and investing more money into helping people quit smoking. Because the current government adopted the Cancer Society’s cancer agenda, some $58 million in new cancer initiatives have been announced in the last year, positively affecting the lives of 65,000 Manitobans every year.

Research

Research continues to be our largest investment. As the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada (more than $490 million over the last 10 years), the Cancer Society has invested in world-class research that has been shown to have the most impact.

In Manitoba, our contribution to research has totalled $6.5 million since 2006. During this same period, the Society also funded nearly 400 clinical trials so Manitobans can receive ground-breaking treatments for breast, colorectal, brain, kidney and prostate cancer as well as leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and many other cancers.

Programs and services

(link to programs and services page)

Top pick charity

Late last year, the charitable watchdog Charity Intelligence examined almost 250 charities in Canada and determined that the Canadian Cancer Society was one of its Top Pick Charities for 2012. Charity Intelligence researches and analyzes the performances of charities and provides rankings and recommendations to Canadians.

Administrative costs

The Cancer Society takes pride in the great care, respect and responsibility we bring to managing every single donor dollar we receive. Because of the generosity of volunteers and a dedicated staff, our administrative costs are less than 7% of total revenue. These funds support the activities of over 6,000 volunteers and 45 staff across Manitoba who manage and deliver vital programs and services.

Leading the cancer fight for 75 years now, the Society has the reach, strength and experience to make the most impact against ALL cancers for families in Manitoba.